Welcome to my blog.
I live in and write about Key West. If you have been here, that’s enough said. If you’ve never been in Key West, all I can say is use your imagination and then some, and you might almost understand.
I look forward to hearing from you and receiving your comments.

Michael Haskins

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Dissecting "To Beat the Devil" - Part Three

Last week we dealt with the Russian mob.

The chase has gone from South Florida to Mexico as Mick Murphy and his friends are trying to find the location of Alexei, the Russian gang boss. The search takes them to Tampico, Mexico. Tampico is where Mick’s friend, and ex-drug smuggler Pauly, sometimes worked out of and where he decided to leave the business. Read the book and you’ll find out what caused Pauly to make a run for it!

It is also at Tampico, where they discover Alexei’s journal that will take them back to Key West. So, how factual is it that Iranians would use a Mexican cartel to sneak Palestinians into the US? You’ll learn about the plan in my book. Let me explain what my intel contact told me. Iranians are not Arabs, they are Persian. You don’t hear about Iranian suicide bombers. But the Iranians pay Hezbollah to do the dirty work and Hezbollah recruits Palestinians.

Has it happened before, Iranians using Mexican cartels for smuggling people into the US? No one can say for sure, but Iranian militants, as well as other Muslin terrorist groups have a foothold in South and Central America. That’s a known fact, so American intelligence probably keeps an eye on them. Might make another good book.

So, my premise is possible.

The Russian gangster’s journal is a throwback to his days in the KGB. Again, it is known the KGB kept good records. That was proven when East Germany’s government went the way of all Eastern Communists bloc. It is still not know what facts were found at the Stasi HQ, but it made a lot of West German politicians nervous. Yes, Alexei’s journal would be a prize.

But, ain’t there always a but? The journal is in Russian (come on, Alexei is Russian so of course he’d write in Russian) and no one among Mick cohorts speaks the language. Mick and Pauly know that their friend in Key West, Burt, has a relationship with a Russian woman. Escaping a Mexican Navy attack on the cartel’s smuggling base, and facing off threats from another cartel, the crew get airborne. While in flight, Murphy flips the journal’s pages and comes across the longitude/latitude numbers and realizes they designate Key West Harbor (remember, he’s a sailor and would know his home ports coordinates).

This discovery brings them back to Key West, to warn the authorities, but not until they get Burt’s friend to translate the journal. What they discover shocks them. What happens when they bring the time sensitive material to the authorities shocks them even worse.

Just a quick side note here, if you’ve been watching the news about the Malaysian Airline that has gone missing (as I write this), you may have heard that an Iranian bought the two men using stolen passports their tickets. That news has the world’s intelligence agencies paying close attention now. As in “To Beat the Devil,” Iranian agents are behind many terrorist actions, even if it’s a terrorist act performed by an Arab, or other non-Iranian.

Truth can be as strange as fiction. We’ll talk about what the Iranians wanted the Palestinians trained for and why it was scheduled for Key West, next time.

Mick Murphy Key West Mystery

A Mick Murphy Mystery

Mickey Murphy Mexican Mystery

Free Range Institution

Free Range Institution, the second in the Mick Murphy Key West Mystery series, is available now. Check out a few chapters at www.michaelhaskins.net, and read the reviews as the come in.

My third in the series, Car Wash Blues, will be available in 2012.

My first Mick Murphy mystery, REVENGE, is now available at Amazon as a trade paperback, Kindle and at Barns&Noble as Nook.

My "lost" Mexican mystery of Murphy in Mexico - Tijuana Weekend - is available as a trade paperback and Kindle at Amazon.com. It is also available on Nook. And sample chapters of all my writing on the website.

There is a list of independent bookstores your can order Free Range Institution from on my website, give them a try.

Thank you.

Free Range Institution

Mick Murphy Key West Mystery

ORDER CHASIN' THE WIND

The hardback edition of "Chasin' the Wind" has a sold out, but the book is available on Amazon.com as a trade paperback and as a Kindle edition.

"Chasin' the Wind" is also available as a audio book from www.booksinmotion.com.

Thank you.

The first Mick Murphy Key West Mystery

"Chasin' the Wind"

“Chasin’ the Wind” nails the colorful and often violent action in both Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. It navigates corruption and small town politics in the southernmost city of the United States. It bumps into a scheme to topple Cuba's communist government, and throws Cuban exiles and military deserters, neurotic federal agents, plus a few unique Key Westers into a brew that promises international repercussions."When officials sworn to uphold the law try to subvert it in Key West, journalist Liam Michael “Mad Mick” Murphy is compelled to react. He and a ragtag group of citizens confront failed justice, but are left with only revenge as an option. Except, perhaps a renegade deal with the Cuban government. Dodging treachery, Mad Mick Murphy goes headlong toward treason, dragging his team of "typical" islanders deeper into the mess they wanted to eliminate.

About Me

I am a mystery writer, living in Key West, Florida. My first novel, "Chasin' the Wind," has sold out. My second Mick Murphy Key West Mystery, "Free Range Institution" came out in Feb. 2011.I have the first two books of my series - REVENGE & Tijuana Weekend - on Amazon as trade paperbacks and on Kindle and Nook.
In this blog, I will write about mystery related subjects, including publishing, festivals, as well as comment on how and why I write,including difficulties and solultions I find. I will mention other mystery writers' books too. I hope to hear from you.
To find out more about me and my writing, go to www.michaelhaskins.net